A Birthday Gift for Sanji
by Charlett
Summary: It's a special day for the Straw Hats' cook, but it seems that he never told the others of his birthday! Which means that the surprise gift for him really IS a surprise! SanjixNami, OneShot


Wheeee! Happy Birthday Sanji! It's a birthday present for our dear cook! Also, it's part of "Sanji's Birthday" contest over at SanjixNami. So it's got SanjixNami fluff. Sorry everyone!

Anyway, without further ado: READ ON!

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A Birthday Gift for Sanji

A SanjixNami for DA

By none other than Chrisanthy Kohn

"Where are you going?" Usopp asked Nami from the shoreline. She stopped where she was, which was on the Going Merry Go. Normally, this wouldn't be a bad thing, but this time, it was rather strange. The Straw Hat Pirates had recently landed on an island that, to them, was unnamed and uncharted, although it was a jungle-esque in appearance. Everyone had pretty much left the boat (aside from Robin), do collect water (Zoro), collect food, (Sanji), or goof off, (everyone else). Nami, however, wasn't preparing to map out the island, something she normally would do. Instead, she was climbing back ONTO the ship. It certainly made Usopp wonder why…

"Why do you need to know? Do you want to help me get my charting supplies out?" Nami asked. Usopp turned around and rushed after Luffy and Chopper as they entered the jungles, asking them to wait up. Nami smiled at Usopp as he left, and she started walking towards the galley. Robin didn't look up, but as the navigator passed the archeologist's sun chair, she stopped as a chill ran up her spine. She knew that Robin wanted to know what was making Nami act so weird…

The Navigator smiled at the woman, who wasn't even looking up from her book, sweating profusely. Realizing Robin wasn't going to force her to say anything; she snuck up to the galley door, and stared at it for a second. Really, this was the first time she was going to enter the kitchen with an attempt to do anything other than eat. Sanji never let her cook or clean up the place. Such a thing wasn't for a woman as beautiful as her. She smiled a bit at the thought of Sanji telling her not to enter the galley, that anything she'd need to eat, he'd make for her, "Sorry, Sanji," Nami said to herself as she opened the door and walked into the kitchen, "But this time, you can't help me…"

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"Nee, Nojiko!" Nami, only four years old, told her step-sister Nojiko (who was five), all those years before, as they picked Mikan from the Mikan grove, "We should make a cake for Bellemere-San! She's off at Jiko Village, and won't be back for the whole day! Let's bake a cake for her for when she comes home tonight!"

Nojiko looked at her sister, stopping her Mikan picking work, and wiped her forehead of sweat, "What are you talking about Nami?"

"Let's bake Bellemere-San a Mikan cake! She'll love it!" The girl replied, throwing her arms out, "Come on, we'll buy the ingredients with our allowances!"

"MY allowance," Nojiko said, sticking a thumb at her chest, "You keep stealing everything you own now anyway… jeez," The girl looked away to tend to the trees again, but stopped when she looked at her sister's pleading eyes. Dangit… They were so cute… She sighed a bit and smiled at her sister, "Alright, let's put the Mikan away, and go to town. Just try not to steal anything while we're at the shop, okay?"

Nami smiled as she followed after her older step-sister, "Hai, Nojiko!" She said, carrying the basket that was twice her size. She couldn't wait to finish the cake as Bellemere traveled to the island town on the other side of the island! Just wait until she came home tonight! What a surprise she would have!

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_What a surprise, indeed…_Nami murmured as she applied an apron to keep flour off her cloths. She figured it'd have a heart on it; it was Sanji's, after all… Oh well, at least it didn't have like, a frog on it or something. She looked around the kitchen, checking for the ingredients necessary for the work she was starting, "Flour, Sugar…" She opened the refrigerator, and smiled. The navigator smiled at the Mikan that were recently harvested from their small grove, and pulled most of them out, as well as two eggs. Turning to a large measuring cup, she began to squeeze the Mikan out to make some juice. She looked at the ingredients she had obtained, and tried to remember if this was everything she needed, "Right!" She said, putting her hands on her hips, "I don't have Nojiko to help me, but I'll be fine, I'm sure," A smile spread across her face, "When everyone sees this when it's done, maybe they'll ask me if I should be backup cook!" She smirked only a bit from her joke, and started working on her baking…

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"Flour, Sugar…" Nojiko read off the ingredients to the cake as Nami looked around for everything they'd need. She had to stand up on a chair to reach the smaller spoon measurements, and when she finally grabbed them, she hopped back down and moved the chair so she could stand up and see all the stuff that was in front of them.

"What do we do next, Nojiko? What do we do?" Nami asked, "What next?"

Nami's sister looked at the directions, and smiled, turning to the oven, "Well, first we…"

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"Preheat the oven to 350 degrees…" Nami began as she stared at the recipe book, pressing a few buttons until the display read "350", "And then, I need to flour the baking pan…" She turned to the side and placed the book on the counter, pulling up the two cake pans and flouring them, to make sure that the cake wouldn't stick when baked. It was a little more than necessary, but hey, she wasn't Sanji!

"After that…" Nami murmured, staring at the book as memories flooded back, "combine all ingredients…"

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"Into a large mixer bowl," Nojiko said, "Nami, we don't have a mixing bowl, so I'll stir, and you put the ingredients in, alright?"

"Alright!" Nami said, "Put ingredients in…" She muttered, grabbing the flour and tipping it so it would all fall into the bowl that the girl had obtained only a moment ago.

"Nami, stop!" Nojiko reprimanded lightly. Nami shrunk back, and Nojiko pointed at the list of ingredients, "It says we need 2¼ cups of cake flour! You can't throw it all in!"

"Right, right," Nami said, practically ignoring her sister. Scanning the counter, she picked up a cup measurement, "This is a cup, right?"

Nojiko smiled. At least she knew SOMETHING, "Yeah, that's right. Fill it up twice, and then fill this one," She grabbed a ¼ cup measurement and placed it next to her, "once. Then we'll mix it with the two eggs. Alright?"

"I wanna break one of the eggs!" Nami cried as she filled the cup measurement and practically threw the whole thing in excitedly, "Can I? Can I?"

"Fine, Fine," Nojiko replied, getting exasperated. Jeez, her sister was way too hyperactive. Well, it was to be expected, because today was…

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"Yeah…" Nami murmured to herself as she stirred the flour and eggs together, tossing the teaspoon of salt in as she thought about the cake she was making, "Today is…" She tasted the batter after the baking powder, vanilla, milk and Mikan was all in, "…perfect…" Placing the batter evenly in the two circular pans (for it was going to be a double layer cake), she heard the oven "Ding!" and nearly jumped.

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The oven suddenly created a "Ding!" noise, making Nami jump. Nojiko looked at her sister as she fell from her chair with a wail and drop to the floor. The girl smiled, "You're so silly, Nami."

"Ouuuuch…" Nami muttered, rubbing her head unhappily. She then jumped up and glared at the offending appliance, rushing over to kick it, "Stupid oven! You're the stupidest oven ever!"

"Nami!" Nojiko shouted, loud enough to make the girl stop, "You can't kick that old thing! What if it broke? We couldn't finish the cake!" Nami winced as her sister handed her a pan filled with half of the batter, and she hopped from her chair with the other one, "Now, remember, you can't put your hand on the rack, Nami, so wear some oven mitts."

Nami puffed her cheeks up, "I know what to do, Nojiko!" She growled, "I don't need to wear mitts…" Nojiko glared at her sister, and Nami sighed, going to retrieve some mitts. No fair, Nojiko didn't have to worry about mitts. The four year old wished she was older, like her sister…

After Nojiko placed the pan into the oven, she let Nami do so as well, and the older sister closed it up, "Now, it says… to leave it in for about an hour," The girl said, looking at her sister, "and then, it'll all be done!"

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"All be done…" Nami murmured to herself, turning to the book again. She needed to finish it all up… And what cake was complete without frosting?

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It was about an hour later (Unless you WANNA sit and wait that hour. …Thought not, let's skip ahead). Sanji was walking back to the Going Merry Go with a pack filled with food slung over his shoulder, looking strangely like Santa Claus, only without the red (Hey, it's not a Christmas fic!). He smirked a bit through his cigarette, like the moronic marimo could EVER get this much food in one day. The swordsman spent most of the day just attempting to RETURN to the ship. With a hup, the cook grabbed onto the Going Merry Go's rope ladder, and pulled himself up, "Robin-Chwan, I've returned with our food!" He proclaimed, figuring that the archeologist was the only one else on the boat.

One of Robin's hands appeared next to Sanji from the wood of the ship, and she placed a finger on his lips, not even looking up from her book. Surprised, the cook hopped up on the ship as the hand disappeared in a fluff of sakura, and he looked at the woman, "Robin-Chan, is something the matter? Was I too loud? I'm terribly sorry!" Robin chuckled a bit as Sanji held the bag filled with food, chewing on it unhappily, muttering things like, "Forgive me," and "I love you!"

"Cook-San," She murmured, her smile not leaving, "Not… so loud," She pointed at the galley, "Someone's working mighty hard in there…"

"What, what are you…" Sanji asked as he went to take the bag down below. Robin continued reading. One minute passed… she flipped a page… another minute, "…talking about, Robin-Chan?" He finished as he popped his head up from below the Going Merry Go's deck. Robin didn't look up, but continued for him.

"Someone's using your utensils, Cook-San," Robin explained, "Someone's working in the galley."

There was silence for a moment, and Sanji rolled up his sleeves, "Oh, really?" He growled angrily. Figured that moron Usopp would steal some of HIS eggs for that stinky rotten egg attack of his, the crappy bastard! "Thank you so much for your assistance, Robin-Chan! I'll make an extra special dessert for you and Nami-San tonight!" Robin didn't need to point out that he made an extra special dessert for her and Nami EVERY day, but flipped a page and read on.

As Sanji stormed up the stairs, preparing his berating for the poor sniper, Nami placed the second layer of cake on top of the first, just like all those years ago. She was so engrossed in her work; she barely noticed the doorknob twist silently, as Sanji was preparing to scare his Nakama out of his wits. That'd teach HIM from stealing HIS stuff! He began to burst onto the scene as Nami smiled at her work. Now, all she had to do was finish it with…

"How DARE YOU!" Nami gave a cry as Sanji threw the door open with a roar, practically throwing the cake into the air. Her heart beat a mile per second, and she stared at the man in the doorway, as he stared back in a surprised stupor, "N… Nami-San?"

"Sanji-Kun!" Nami cried, "Wha… what are you doing here so…"

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"…early, Bellemere-San?" Nami cried as Nojiko and her mother walked through the door, staring at the little girls, covered in chocolate icing, as they were applying it to their cake already. The icing of the cake… looked rather messy, and the girls hadn't even finished! They just need to ice the top tier; that was it! She came in too early!

The mother stared at her little girls, her cigarette fluttering softly from her mouth, "What…"

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"…is this?" Sanji asked, taking a step forward.

"It's not done yet!" Nami said quietly and quickly, as if she were a scared mouse, caught in a corner by a rather hungry cat, "I didn't finish it yet! Why are you here so early?"

Sanji took another step forward, "Why? Why did…"

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"…you do this, girls?" Bellemere asked, suddenly smiling, "Why did you do this for me?"

Nami and Nojiko smiled at each other, and they looked at their mother, "Isn't it obvious? It's…"

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"…your birthday, Sanji-Kun," Nami said, smiling sheepishly, "I… overheard you yesterday. You were… napping in between breakfast and lunch… and you said that… the Crap Geezer had better remember your birthday tomorrow…" Sanji scratched the back of his head. He should get more sleep; it would save trouble like this in the long run.

Wait, this wasn't troublesome at all… He shook his head at the navigator, "But, you…"

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"…didn't have to, you know," Bellemere said, approaching her daughters, "You didn't have to do anything. Your love…"

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"…is enough, Nami-San," Sanji finished, reaching out and taking her hand in his, "It's enough. Why did you do it?"

Nami didn't shy away from the touch, and looked at the cook in the eyes, a smile playing on her lips, "Because I heard from a certain mayor…"

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"…named Genzo… that actions speak louder than words," Nami exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, "Nee, Bellemere-San, can you help us…"

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"…finish it? Then…" The navigator blushed, "you can eat all to yourself…"

Sanji looked at the unfinished cake. It just needed to be frosted, it seemed. He looked at Nami, and suddenly whirled around, standing behind her. Releasing her, he took out his pack of cigarettes, and placed one in his mouth, "Help you? My dear… you've gotten this far… do you really need my help?" Nami was about to ask who this monster was and what he had done with Sanji, but then she heard him speak again, "That is, unless you need it. I can't give you help you don't need."

Nami realized then that Sanji… was letting her finish something he was much better at. He… was letting her finish it; even though she knew he would do whatever he could to keep her from working… normally… She smiled, noticing that he gave her a choice before letting her go on her own, "Thank you, Sanji-Kun," She turned around, and smiled, "I'll finish it, for you!" Sanji smiled and placed his hand on her shoulder as she continued her work. She laughed aloud, and proclaimed as she began finishing the last touches on the cake, "Happy Birthday, Sanji-Kun…"

Outside, the ship's archeologist spoke nary a word, but flipped the page of her book, and smiled lightly to herself… Now… was the best time to have a wallflower personality. Indeed…

**THE END!**

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Hope you enjoyed it! Hurrah!**  
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